This invention relates generally to a computer method and system for creation of individualized financial instruments at the point of sale in retail locations.
Check cashing businesses have been established to advance customers funds based on postdated checks written by the customer. Typically, the customer must avail themselves to such businesses during normal business hours, and must also make their checks payable in relatively large increments, such as, perhaps, multiples of fifty dollars. Once the customer has been paid by his or her employer, the check cashing business presents the check for payment. The business extracts a fee for this service which may be cost prohibitive to some customers. Further, because the customer is provided with cash in relatively large increments, such as multiples of fifty dollars, the customer may actually be required to obtain more cash than their immediate needs require. The customer may thus be tempted to use such excess cash on non-necessities which could again contribute to a lack of funds after the customer's next payday, which, in turn, may then push the customer back towards check cashing businesses, resulting in an unfortunate financial cycle for the customer.
Another item of inconvenience is the fact that the customer must not only be present at such check cashing business during that business's hours, the customer must thereafter travel to an actual merchant's location to purchase the customer's basic needs, such as medicine, groceries, merchandise, clothing, gasoline, utilities, etc.
In the event the customer writes a bad check, then the customer will generally incur significant non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees by his or her bank, in addition to those penalty fees the customer may be required to pay to merchants and other parties to whom non-sufficient funds checks were written.
The foregoing problems are especially prevalent with those customers who have, or have had in the past, bad credit, or cannot obtain credit due to low income and/or too few assets.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a mechanism by which a customer or other customer can purchase basic needs items, such as medicine, food, fuel, etc., from a merchant, even in those times when the customer may not have funds to pay for those items, with the understanding that the merchant will be paid back on or after the customer's receipt of his or her next paycheck.